From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Holy Cross senior Julia Flanagan won the Senior Class Race and sophomore Addison Weiss and Ryleigh Budsock led the Cherry Hill East girls to 2^nd place in the team merge Friday at the Battle of Ocean County Park in Lakewood.

Flanagan ran 17:53, the fastest 5,000 on any course on record by a Holy Cross girl and won the Senior Race by 75 meters over Lexie Mizzone of Voorhees, who was 2^nd in 18:11.

Her previous all-course PR over a 5,000-meter course was 18:39 last year at DREAM Park in Logan Township. She was the state Parochial A champ at 3,200 meters both indoors and outdoors last year, and her 10:52.74 at outdoor states at Stockton Unviersity in Galloway Township makes her the fastest returning two-miler in South Jersey.

Cherry Hill East, ranked No. 11 in New Jersey, finished second only to 3^rd-ranked Middletown South, 72-106.

Weiss placed 3^rd in the Sophomore Race and had the 4^th-fastest time overall from the three races at 18:06 and Budsock ran 18:55, 4^th-fastest in the Junior Race and 11^th-fastest overall. The freshman race was 3,200 meters and isn’t considered in team scoring.

Also in Cherry Hill East’s top five: Katherine Grottini, 10^th in the Junior Race and 35^th overall in 19:57, Gabriella Pizzo, 11^th in the Junior Race and 43^rd overall in 20:10 and Emmie Wang, 12^th in the sophomore race and 44^th overall in 20:17.

Cherry Hill East’s 6^th and 7^th runners, Ella Davidson and Shaelea Conway, were also among the 55-fastest of 350 runners in the three 5,000-meter races. Davidson ran 20:23 for 23^rd in the Senior Race and 46^th-fastest overal, and Conway ran 20:51 for 27^th in the Senior Race and 55^th overall.

For team scoring purposes, East went 4-9-26-33-34-(36-44).

Eastern’s Theresa Albertson placed 7^th in the Junior Race in 19:35, and Delran’s Ashley Doyle ran the same time and was 12^th in the Senior Race.  They were both tied for 23^rd-fastest in the entire field.